Another way to say “work”

Doing only the work explicitly required by your job description — no unpaid overtime, no extra projects. Technically still employed, mentally checked out. The 2022 Gen Z labor mantra that gave HR departments a quiet panic. Productive in moderation; corrosive in extremes.

"I don't want to answer this right now." Corporate stall phrase meaning we'll address this later — which often means never. "Great question — let me circle back on that next week." Universally recognized as a polite no; only the Most Sincere Manager actually circles back.

"Send me a message on Slack/Teams when you need me." Has fully replaced "email me" for anything under an hour's attention. "Ping me when the deploy finishes" implies a 15-second check-in, not a scheduled follow-up. Emails are for archival; pings are for right now.

Corporate-speak for making a measurable impact on a business metric. "Won't move the needle" = nice idea, won't hit the quarterly number. Executives use it to kill features that don't show up on a dashboard; engineers roll their eyes.

The theoretical value created when departments, companies, or teams collaborate. Rarely actually created; frequently cited in decks. "The merger will unlock $200M in synergies" is corporate shorthand for a number that will not survive the actual integration.

Corporate euphemism for "have a short meeting or chat." Widely mocked for being unnecessarily vague — "touch base Monday" could mean anything from a 5-minute stand-up to a 45-minute existential strategy review. Almost always replaces a simpler word.

Easy wins that require minimal effort. Corporate planning shorthand for the obvious first things to tackle. "Knock out the low-hanging fruit" = do the easy ones first so the dashboard looks busy. The phrase itself is low-hanging fruit for every corporate-cliché bingo card.

A thorough investigation of a topic, typically scheduled as a meeting. "Let's deep dive" = "let's spend an hour going in circles." Required preamble in every PM's calendar. Useful when actually deep; performative the other 70% of the time. Adjacent to "let's align" in pure ceremony.

Corporate-speak for time or mental capacity. "I don't have bandwidth" = "I'm not doing that." Beautifully vague — nobody has to admit overwork, bad prioritization, or that your request is the last thing they want to touch. Widely mocked precisely because it works.

Wasting disproportionate time debating trivial details (button colors, variable names) while ignoring the hard, important parts of a project. Parkinson's Law of Triviality — easier to argue about a bike shed than a nuclear reactor. Every team falls into it quarterly.

To attempt something so absurdly broad that it's doomed. Used as a warning in meetings: "we don't need to boil the ocean here." The goal is always more focused than the proposal, and the phrase is the polite way to say so without killing anyone's idea outright.

Verb form of "action." Turning "action" (noun) into a verb so a manager can sound busy without actually doing anything. "We're actioning the feedback from last week's offsite" means a spreadsheet exists somewhere with unchecked boxes.

Verb form of synergy, used with a straight face in strategy decks. Technically means "combine so the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" — usually just means "collaborate."

Performing a seemingly pointless preliminary task that leads to other preliminary tasks — all in the name of solving your actual original problem. Coined by Carlin Vieri at MIT AI Lab in the 1990s, inspired by a Ren & Stimpy episode. Every engineer has yak-shaved.

Entering a hyper-focused state to get something done. Implies shutting out distractions and grinding. Announced on group chats the night before a big exam, deadline, or creative project. The announcement itself is often the last productive act of the evening.

Doing a task alongside another person (in-person or over video call) because the mere presence of someone else makes it easier to focus. Originally an ADHD coping strategy; now mainstream via "study with me" streams on YouTube and Twitch.

The gradual expansion of a project's original scope as "small" additions stack up. The project was "a login page." Now it includes SSO, MFA, password rotation, audit logs, and admin tooling. Every additional requirement feels small in isolation; together they double the timeline.

To perform (a public obligation).

(slang) A member of a navy; a sailor; a fisherman.

Persona que está siempre con un superior cumpliendo sus órdenes.

Persona que está siempre con un superior cumpliendo sus órdenes.

para afilar, generalmente con una muela de esmeril montada sobre un eje que gira.

Qui est stipendié par.

Artiste qui court après les cachets, qui les recherche.

feminino de caminhoneiro

demissão em massa; dispensa de número significativo de funcionários

Dicho de un contrato o régimen de trabajo, que se paga por unidad de producto y no por el tiempo empleado en producirla.

Con mucha dedicación y empeño.

Dedicarse con entusiasmo y energía a estudiar y trabajar en un proyecto o asunto.

Persona que está siempre con un superior cumpliendo sus órdenes.

Que afana o se afana (trabaja con afán, esfuerzo, vehemencia o apuro; labora corporalmente; hurta o estafa).

Que obra con diligencia y eficacia en su trabajo o en tareas que se le encargan.

Dejar de holgazanear.

Persona que participa en una aparcería o en una comuna agraria.

Cualquier herramienta o útil empleado en la labranza.

Que afila o saca filo.

A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice.

To extract money, labour, etc. from, by exaction or oppression.